


Ripples

by starrylitme



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Books, Fluff, Libraries, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Short & Sweet, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 06:00:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12248403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrylitme/pseuds/starrylitme
Summary: In which Saihara and Kiibo talk about books. And then Kiibo falls.(Slice of Life, Non-Despair AU, maybe?)





	Ripples

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ettobin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ettobin/gifts).



> I'm cross-posting this on tumblr too for prosperity, so I'll re-state somethings.
> 
> Anyway! This is a commissioned work! I hope it's liked. =w=;;
> 
> I've never written these two so I read up on FTEs to try and get a good idea of their relationship. Hopefully that...turned out well? Kiibo's FTEs are really cute. I highly recommend doing them. Kiibo in general is really, really cute.
> 
> The title comes from being a synonym. I hope that's okay. =w=

The books are piled as disorderly as ever. For some stacks, it seems as though the slightest rattle could send mountains tumbling down. Saihara rubs his nose as he searches the shelf, brow furrowing and eyes squinted. After all, several titles on the spines were considerably faded. Skimming them was all the more tedious because of it.

_No, this doesn’t seem to be it either. Nor this. Or this. This isn’t Shiawase but Shi—_

“Please excuse me for entering!” Saihara flinched, and the ensuing stomping served to make him tense further. “Ah! Saihara-kun! Good morning!”

“Ah, Kiibo-kun...” He turned slightly, nodding in greeting and tugging down the brim of his hat. “Good...morning.”

“It is quite early, Saihara-kun!” Kiibo exclaimed, sounding strangely amazed. “Did you have trouble sleeping last night, perhaps? Ah, please excuse me for asking.”

“You don’t need to excuse yourself for that,” he replied. “I’m just used to waking up early. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Ah, I see, I see.” Kiibo nodded a few times, smiling.

A moment passed. Silence hung in the air. After a while, Kiibo was still smiling easily, even as Saihara’s own smile began to strain.

_It would be rude to just leave it at that, so I should at least..._

“...So you read, Kiibo-kun?”

“Of course! I was programmed with an average human’s literacy skills!” Kiibo sounded almost offended, and Saihara flinched. “Most high school kids can _read_ , after all!”

“Oh, no... I meant... As a hobby,” he said. “So, you enjoy reading? That’s, ah...what I meant.”

_Right. Kiibo-kun takes things literally so I need to be careful with my wording._

“I enjoy it quite a bit, actually!” Kiibo still seemed happy to answer the question, at least. “I may not have been programmed with books in my database but I _have_ read books! I’ve read Asimov, for instance! So, I know the laws of robotics quite well.”

_That’s a pretty obvious choice for a robot to read..._

“Ah, I see...” All the same, he nodded with a smile. “So, what’s your favorite?”

“Ah...!” Kiibo stiffened and his face scrunched up as he thought it over. “Ahhh, well... I haven’t exactly...read that _many_ books...” He hesitated. “So, er, that is to say... I don’t think I’ve read enough to make that...kind of call... B-But I do enjoy reading...”

“That makes sense,” he said. “Reading is very enjoyable...and calming, I think.”

Kiibo nodded along, flustered.

“U... Um! Saihara-kun, what is your favorite book?” he asked, blinking wide, intensely blue eyes at him. Saihara, of course, tugged the brim of his hat further down. “Would it be something from like Sherlock Holmes or Akechi Kogoro? Kindaichi Kosuke, perhaps?”

_...ah._

“Well, yes, I have read my fair share of those stories...” _Assuming I’m into detective novels just because I’m the SHSL Detective is a bit hypocritical of Kiibo-kun, isn’t it? Oh, but I shouldn’t say anything like that._ “But that was more when I was younger. I don’t read them much...now...”

_I’m not even much of a detective. It was just that one case._

“Ah, I see, I see,” Kiibo said, nodding again. “I suppose that is logical.”

_...Is it really?_

Well, it wasn’t like he wished to press this matter further.

“Oh that’s right! I came in here to read! Please excuse me, Saihara-kun!”

“Oh, no, it’s...” Kiibo brushed past him. “Alright...? Wait! Kiibo-kun! W-What are you _doing_?!”

The stepladder rattled as it was pushed. Oddly, Kiibo grunted a little from the effort.

Saihara trailed after him uncertainly, watching warily as Kiibo began to climb.

“K-Kiibo-kun...!”

“Ah, please do not worry yourself, Saihara-kun!” Kiibo called out over his shoulder. “I am merely going to pull out the book I want! It will be fine!”’

“Are you sure...?” he asked. “That ladder is...”

Said ladder wobbles a bit in spite of Kiibo’s response.

“One-hundred-percent!”

_I don’t think I can convince him to come down but..._ Saihara swallowed, hovering nearby. He eyed Kiibo’s back warily. “...please be careful...”

“Saihara-kun, so much worrying when I am one-hundred-percent sure is illogical!” Kiibo chirped as he ran his fingers over the spines until he found the one he wanted. He tugged at it. “You worry so much... Ah, huh?”

That’s not a good sound.

And sure enough, Kiibo was struggling at pulling it out.

“A-Ah, it...it seems...the book...is stuck...!”

The ladder rattled.

“There are plenty of books, Kiibo-kun!” Saihara yelled. “Perhaps you should grab something else? Something easier to pull out?!”

“D...Do not worry, Saihara-kun!” Kiibo grunted and yanked hard enough to shake as the book refused to budge. “I-I will...definitely...be...be a-okay...one-hundred...!”

The book came free, several books coming with it, and Kiibo went toppling back with a yelp.

“ _KIIBO-KUN_!”

* * *

“Oww...”

“...oh, Kiibo-kun...”

Saihara pulled off the books that had fallen on top of him, piling them nearby. He grimaced as Kiibo let out another pained whine, internally guilt-stricken all the while.

_I could have tried to catch him to break his fall, but... If I had done that, with Kiibo-kun’s weight in addition to all those books, I really would have gotten hurt... Still, I’m sorry, Kiibo-kun!_

“I can call Iruma-san, if you like,” he offered weakly.

_She could function as a nurse for Kiibo-kun, right? Still, asking her would be difficult... Akamatsu-san would help me convince her, at least..._

“No... No, I am fine...” Kiibo sniffled. “I just need to lie down like this for a while longer... I will be fine... No... No worries...”

_Even if he is just a robot... He looks close to crying, so it must have still hurt..._

It seemed illogical, really, to program a robot to feel pain, but he couldn’t really think about that now. No, instead, he should...

Saihara hesitated and then he went.

_If I recall correctly... Yes._

He pulled out a book, well-worn but in good enough condition. The cover was faded with age, but he still could make out the winged centaur, the mountains, and a sphere housing a deeply frowning head. He took a deep breath and then returned.

“...Kiibo-kun...” He offered the book. Blinking those wide, watery blues— _he was programmed to cry, too, huh_ —Kiibo stared up at it, uncomprehendingly.

“Ah, er... Saihara-kun... This is...?”

“I...read this when I was younger and I really enjoyed it, I think,” Saihara explained. “I thought that, perhaps, you’d enjoy it, too?”

_I have no idea what kind of books a robot would enjoy reading, but..._

“I just think it’s a good recommendation. I really love novels, so I’ve read a lot of them... And this one is actually one of my favorites...” He trailed off. “I, ah... Is this alright...?”

_The book that Kiibo-kun was trying to pull out..._

He plucked it from the pile, stacking it atop his book.

_I don’t recognize this cover, but..._

“Maybe you can read it later,” he offered. “Like I said, it’s just...a recommendation...”

“S-Saihara-kun...!” Kiibo nearly sobbed. “T-Thank you so much...!”

“O-Oh no!” Saihara stammered. “Kiibo-kun...!”

“It just...hurts so much, Saihara-kun...!” With abandon, the tears began to flow. “And this floor is quite uncomfortable...! The air is dirty!! And your kindness has touched me so!! Saihara-kun...! Saihara-kuuun...! Waaaah...!”

_...Oh..._ Saihara relaxed a little, even as his worry didn’t much fade. _I wouldn’t consider it that kind, but... Well..._

“T...There, there, Kiibo-kun... Um...” He gave him the books, Kiibo taking them and sniveling as he wiped his eyes off his sleeve. “Do you, um...want me to carry you back to your room...?”

“P...Please do...!”

“...Okay.”

With how heavy Kiibo was, it was going to be an exhausting trip, so it was unlikely he’d be able to return here and find that book, but... Well, it couldn’t be helped.

“Come on, Kiibo-kun.”

Kiibo was still snuffling as Saihara helped him onto his back. Kiibo certainly _was_ heavy, but, even if it was quite a bit of work, he really didn’t mind carrying him like a tearful kid with a scrapped knee or sprained ankle. Especially with Kiibo whispering soft, wobbly words of gratitude into his shoulder.

_Even so, this is...a lot of work..._

Well, he still managed, of course.

“T-Thank you again, Saihara-kun... So much...”

“...it really is nothing.”


End file.
